Captain Li arrived in a Jeep with flashing police lights and quickly led his men back to the G City Public Security Bureau.

He first sent the most troublesome men to the detention area, then personally dragged Lü Shouqian away for questioning.

On Zhou Qiqi's side, Officer Tan, whom she had met before, was sent to take her statement.

Zhou Qiqi and Zhang Guoqiang were both completely bewildered; they genuinely knew nothing about it.

The two of them recounted everything that had happened that day, and the statement was taken very quickly.

When the two came out of the interrogation room, Zhao Damei was waiting anxiously for Zhou Qiqi outside.

The two had a brief exchange just now at the entrance of the First Garment Factory.

Zhou Qiqi had just sewed a thick woolen scarf for Zhao Damei a few days ago, thinking that she could wear it to block the wind when she went from street to street selling potted plants. But she was afraid that Zhao Damei would think it was too expensive, so she secretly put it in the cloth bag that Zhao Damei used to carry the seedlings.

Little did Zhao Damei know that she thought Zhou Qiqi had left the car on her own, so she ran back to return it to her, only to run into Lü Shouqian and his men causing trouble.

If she hadn't rushed over so quickly, Zhou Qiqi might have suffered a huge loss.

So even though Zhou Qiqi told her to go ahead and do her own thing at the garment factory gate, she was still worried and followed her here in her donkey cart.

Seeing the beads of sweat on Zhao Damei's forehead, Zhou Qiqi felt a surge of warmth in her heart and reached out to wipe them away for her.

"Sister Mei, everything's fine here. You should go back quickly. What if someone steals the potted plants from the car?"

Zhang Guoqiang had just noticed the overflowing flowers and plants on the donkey cart and, remembering that Zhao Damei had just saved him, quickly joined in to persuade her.

"That's right, you go back and keep an eye on things, I'll take care of things here."

Zhao Damei rolled her eyes without any politeness.

"What good are you? It's precisely because you're here that I don't feel at ease."

Sure enough, Zhou Qiqi was protected by pepper spray and wasn't hurt at all. On the contrary, Zhang Guoqiang was bruised and swollen, with a huge bump on the back of his head. He looked ridiculous no matter how you looked at him.

Zhang Guoqiang rubbed his temples, his voice hoarse.

"Master Zhou, what happened today was indeed my fault. I didn't expect Director Lü to come back so suddenly..."

After all, Lu Shouqian hadn't been back for almost a year before this, and he didn't care about anything at the factory. If he needed to find him, he didn't know where to look for him.

He really didn't expect that Director Lü would come back at this critical juncture and pull such a stunt.

"Thanks to you for having Master Ma call the police officer over, otherwise..."

He's still a little scared.

As they were talking, Captain Li called out to them from the office doorway.

Captain Li sat down in the chair.

"Those thugs and the security guard have already confessed. They were caught causing trouble and, at the maximum penalty, they'll be in jail for half a month. The big security guard will also have to pay for medical expenses."

Zhou Qiqi was fairly satisfied with the result, and then asked, "What about Lü Shouqian?"

Captain Li tapped on the table.

“He is, after all, the director of a state-owned factory. We can punish him by putting him in jail for causing trouble, but how to classify it depends on the Light Industry Bureau or the Municipal Economic Commission, which are in charge of him.”

He paused, then added.

"But don't worry, with his character, he'll at least lose his job as factory director, get a major demerit, and can forget about ever working for the government again."

Hearing him say that, Zhou Qiqi nodded, "Then I'm relieved."

But Zhang Guoqiang, standing to the side, shook his head with a wry smile and said, "You might be putting your mind at ease too soon."

"What's the meaning?"

Before Zhou Qiqi could ask, Officer Tan suddenly rushed over.

"Captain Li! The comrades from the Municipal Economic Commission are here! The director wants you to go there right away!"

Captain Li frowned and left in a hurry.

A short while later, he returned with a dark expression and slammed his hand on the table.

"The person was forcibly taken away by the Municipal Economic Commission. They said that the matter of the state-owned factory was being investigated by their supervisory unit, and that our public security department would be involved after the investigation results were released."

These days, these organizations are all incredibly powerful, and there's really nothing he, as the head of the security brigade, can do about it.

Zhang Guoqiang leaned against the wall and sighed.

"I heard them say before that Director Wei of the Municipal Economic Commission is Director Lü's brother-in-law. I didn't believe it at first, but now it seems to be true."

In recent years, many coworkers have reported Lü Shouqian openly or secretly, but each time the higher-ups said they would investigate, nothing ever came of it.

It's likely that this matter will ultimately come to nothing after the investigation.

Zhou Qiqi finally understood why Lü Shouqian dared to be so arrogant; it turned out he had someone backing him up.

Just as she was feeling frustrated, Captain Li suddenly pulled out a wad of bills from his drawer and pushed it in front of Zhou Qiqi.

“I can’t control this matter, but I’ve gotten the money back from your contract. Keep it safe, and no one will dare to use this to cause you trouble in the future.”

This gave Zhou Qiqi an unexpected surprise; the money had finally grown wings and flown into her hands.

She knew that Captain Li must have talked himself hoarse about this, and she said "thank you" several times.

Captain Li waved his hand, his eyes slightly darting away. Zhou Qiqi was Shen Huaichuan's wife.

He only helped this little bit because his own people were wronged. If Shen Huaichuan found out, he would probably look down on him as his master.

After leaving the police station, everyone was a bit listless.

When they reached the intersection, Zhao Damei went to fetch the donkey cart, and Zhang Guoqiang turned to ask Zhou Qiqi.

"Master Zhou, what are your plans for the future?"

What else can we do?

Zhou Qiqi pouted.

Fortunately, after noticing Wu Shufen's unusual behavior, she became more cautious and changed the contract to a phased arrangement. Now she has received the money for the first phase.

In the end, she didn't actually lose anything.

"At worst, we can just stop cooperating with the First Garment Factory in the future."

She has many options; she could go back to setting up a stall.

She paused, then asked in return, "But what about you, Deputy Factory Director Zhang? What are you planning to do?"

Zhang Guoqiang looked at the factory buildings in the distance, rubbed his face, and said in a tired tone.

"I don't have any ideas either. I'll go back to the factory first. The payment should be in my account in the next couple of days. While Lü Shouqian has been taken away, I'll quickly distribute the money to my coworkers..."

I reckon that once Lü Shouqian goes back, he'll definitely retaliate against him, and then his position as deputy factory director will be in jeopardy. It's better to pay him off now.

"You're a good factory manager, it's a pity..."

Zhou Qiqi patted his shoulder and prepared to go back first.

Zhao Damei wanted to give her a ride, but she firmly refused.

"Why don't you take Deputy Director Zhang back? You're going to the towel factory's residential compound today anyway, it's on your way."

"Alright."

Zhao Damei reluctantly agreed. After they left, Zhou Qiqi was about to take the purchasing vehicle back when she suddenly remembered that there was something important she hadn't told Captain Li. She quickly ran back to the police station.